


the one he was always supposed to be with

by juuliiee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-07
Updated: 2012-09-07
Packaged: 2017-11-13 18:00:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/506199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juuliiee/pseuds/juuliiee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry reflects on his past relationship on the big day.</p>
            </blockquote>





	the one he was always supposed to be with

There are times that call for reflection of some sort and this is one of them, Harry thinks. It's a time to look back on your life to see how you ended up where you are now; to send a thought to the people who were crucial in making you who you are – to the people who have meant so much to your life, regardless of whether they are still a part of it.

 

 

He remember his first love, though knowing what love is now, it may not have been love so much as a lot of like and excitement and youth and _firsts_.

He met Niall in school and they were friends for years before anything happened between them, and they're still friends now, Niall will be at the wedding and at thet reception later today with his boyfriend and they've turned out pretty okay, both of them.

It was easy back then – going to class, hanging out with the friends after school, getting obnoxiously drunk and stupid on the weekends, horrible dancing, and spending entire days kissing in the park, hiding behind the bushes so a family member walking by wouldn't see them. It was easy being with Niall – fun, lots of laughing, no responsibilities, and them and their friends – they were on top of the world, back then, had it all figured out.

Of course, there was also a lot of sex, though it took them a while to get to it, both maybe a bit freaked out about _doing it_ with a guy, not sure if they would even know _how_ to be with a guy, and was it very different from being with a girl? When it happened it was clumsy and awkward at first, but good nonetheless. Harry is so happy that he had those first experiences with Niall because they were also friends and they can laugh about it now.

It lasted for about just under a year or something, coming to a natural end when they went to different universities. It hurt, of course, but not for long and neither of them were particularly broken-hearted or traumatized from the split.

 

 

 

He met Louis soon after at one of the first Uni parties he went to. He had been invited by Aiden, who later turned out to be Louis' flatmate and best friend, who had taken on the role of "tutor" for Harry and his group of friends. How Aiden had ever gotten that job is a mystery as he spent most of their "tutoring sessions" smoking and gossiping and definitely not talking about Psychology or Economics.

He and Louis had hit it off from the first moment they laid eyes on each other. For the almost three years they knew each other they were practically inseparable and it's probably the three years of his life with the most laughter and general _craziness_. Sometimes he misses Louis' impulse decisions no matter how much trouble they sometimes led to. Harry still believes that they were soul mates, in the sense that they just _knew_ each other inside out; Harry would know what Louis was thinking and doing, even when they were apart.

Harry had definitely been in love with Louis. In hindsight he thinks that maybe the crazy, intense feeling of being in love had somewhere along the way turned into real love and then into friendship with the added bonus of sex. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between being best friends who have sex and being a genuine romantic couple. They may have lost sight of that at some point during their relationship.

Louis made Harry feel carefree and restless and on top of the world. They had been so good together and, more importantly, they had been so good _for_ each other in that time of their lives.

It sounds like a bit of a cliché, but the end of their relationship was inevitable – they simple grew apart. Or maybe grew up. Or something in between and maybe it doesn't matter because it's the same thing, but they did. Harry wanted more than the typical Uni life, which Louis was still very much involved in even though he by then were out of Uni and had a job – Harry was ready for commitment of a more serious nature, living together, being actual adults, and Louis was… not.

It wasn't a bad break-up, Harry had initiated it a few months after he had graduated, but it turned out Louis had been having similar thoughts for a while; there was no fighting or screaming or anything like that, but they hadn't managed to go from the best friends who have sex relationship to the just best friends relationship like him and Niall had; probably because him and Niall were never _really_ in love but him and Louis had been for at least a little while.

He doesn't really talk to Louis anymore, they are friends on Facebook, so he knows what's happening in his life and he knows that Louis and Aiden are now in an on-off relationship and Harry thinks they look good together. Even though they haven't seen each other in years he still felt it was right to send Louis a private message telling him about the engagement before he made a public announcement. Louis sent back a message, "Wow, congratulations. So happy for you Hazza, I want all the best for you – I facebook stalked your guy and he looks like a keeper ;) x"

 

 

 

Zayn was something else completely. Intense and _different._ Niall and Louis had had many of the same qualities and personality traits but Zayn was completely and utterly different from them in every way. He had been just what Harry had needed at the time.

Zayn was, _is_ , utterly gorgeous, and previously Harry would never have thought he could get someone like that. He had first met Zayn when he was still with Louis; Zayn had been casually dating a guy named Nicolo who was a close friend of Aiden. A few weeks after the break up from Louis he had literally stumbled into Zayn in a night club and they hooked up that night. At first Harry hadn't even contemplated a new relationship so soon, he was kind of thinking it was only going to be a causal thing, but Zayn had in a way _stuck_ on him.

It turned out to be the shortest relationship he had ever had, from the first hook up to the final kiss was about seven or eight months. But they were good months. It is the least complicated relationship he has ever been in – there was no arguing or fighting, no secrets or hurt feelings or other complications which are normally a part of a serious relationship. They both knew exactly what they wanted from the relationship and from each other. They probably also both knew that it wasn't a forever thing, but it was okay because neither of them wanted or needed a forever thing back then.

Harry is not sure if he was ever really in love with Zayn; he tends to think he was just deeply in lust, and indeed, their relationship was very, very _physical_. It was all the time and everywhere.

Zayn is travelling now, he is all over the place; Harry thinks he may be in New York or in Australia, could be Argentina, now, but he has trouble keeping up. Zayn is old-fashioned and sends him postcards and when he is somewhere with internet connection he logs on Facebook and writes Harry long essays about everything he's seen and heard and experienced and all the people he's met. Harry hopes that Zayn will eventually write that book he has been talking about for so long now.

If Zayn hadn't been… wherever he is, he would have been invited for tonight as well, but instead he has send some sort of figurine which is apparently a wedding tradition in one of the native tribes in South America. It's a funny relationship; they're not close friends by any definition and they don't share a lot of things beside everyday trivialities, their discussions revolve mostly around Zayn's travels and Harry's job and the up-to-date status of their relationships, but it's a friendship he cherishes none the less.

 

 

 

Harry had been living with his sister Gemma since just after Uni, but the next summer where Zayn and him went back to being friends (it was the classic 'let's just be friends' break-up, but unlike most others they were actually capable of being just friends) Gemma announced that she was moving in with her boyfriend. Harry definitely couldn't afford to live there alone, but Gemma said her friend's younger brother was looking for a place to live.

That's how he met Liam.

 

 

 

Harry had been very nervous about living with a total stranger; he had met Gemma's friend Ruth several times and she was a very sweet girl, but that didn't necessarily mean that her brother was nice, so he had his doubts at first.

It wasn't love at first sight; Liam was shy and awkward around strangers, seemed to use all his time on the PhD in Philosophy he was studying for, and he didn't attempt any sort of friendship with Harry, but living with him was easy – he was tidy and quiet and never said anything or complained when Harry brought back guys (or girls, on rare occasions) after a drunken night out and making too much noise and having parties in their flat in the middle of the night. They were, and still are to a degree, total opposites, and Harry thought it was strange that Liam was 23 and he was 22 and yet they didn't seem to have anything in common at all, except for their sisters knowing each other.

But then something happened. Over night. He had been living with Liam for about two months when he went out one night with work mates. Someone had apparently slipped something in his drink, but the effect didn't kick in until he had gotten himself home (alone) at about five in the morning. He was bent over the toilet, puking and crying and being the most miserable he had ever been when there was a soft knock on the door and Liam came in, asking him if he was alright. He had been up studying all night. Harry couldn't answer, but he didn't need to. Liam got him water and sat with him, held his hair, and talked softly to him without expecting Harry to answer him for five hours straight or however long it was. By the end of the ordeal Harry had looked up at Liam and come to see that he hadn't made enough of an effort to get to know his flatmate and what an idiot he had been.

He also really _saw_ Liam for the very first time that night. He still doesn't understand how he hadn't noticed those beautiful eyes or that stupidly fit body before. He had been _right there_ all this time and Harry hadn't even noticed him.

They became friends after that and Harry was surprised to discover that Liam was the most interesting person he had ever me without question; quietly funny and so smart and so sweet. Their differences brought out the best in the other and Liam challenged him in a way no one else ever had. Yeah, everyone could see it coming from far, far away - even Zayn, all the way from fucking Beijing.

When Harry leaned in to kiss Liam for the first time on New Year's Eve right there in the middle of the street no one was surprised, except for maybe Liam. He blushed and stuttered a bit, Harry thought it was adorable and couldn't help smiling, but then he had pulled Harry close to him again and the second (and third and fourth and fifth) kiss was even better.

Harry fell in love slowly, but deeply, with Liam and now he can't imagine being without him and he doesn't ever want to find out what that is like. As it turned out, Liam is everything he never knew he always wanted. The beginning of their relationship might have been the least romantic of all time, but it was… unique. And they have made up for it since – they are both hopeless romantics at heart, Harry had never known this about himself before because he had never been with anyone who would appreciate the romance like Liam does.

The moment Liam proposed to him is the happiest moment of his life this far.

 

* * *

Harry is pulled from reminiscing by a knock on the door, and he turns his head just as Niall opens the door, "Hey, you ready?" he asks.

Harry cannot stop the wide smile from taking over his face, "never been more ready, mate."

"Alright, let's get you married then." Niall pulls Harry off the bed and they head out.

The wedding is beautiful and the tears in Liam's shining eyes reflect the love that Harry feels in his heart. He is so thankful for everything that has happened and all the people who helped him get to this point – marrying the man he was always supposed to be with.

 


End file.
